Following the October 7 Hamas attacks, residents along Israel’s northern border grow increasingly anxious over the possibility of a similar assault by Hezbollah.
Gil Sagi is an Israeli dairy farmer living on a kibbutz in northern Israel. Since the beginning of Israel’s war with Hamas, his community, along with others, has been under fire from the Hezbollah terrorist organization. His wife is with him, among the few who stayed on the kibbutz, as many thousands of residents from the area have been evacuated. His three children and two grandchildren left the area a few days after the war began, scattering across Israel to wait for quieter times.
“I milk the cows under fire,” Sagi told The Media Line. “I’m going to stay here as long as I can, as long as there’s no fighting in my kibbutz. At first, we would run to the bomb shelters; now, we just keep working even with shooting around us.”
“The cows don’t get alarmed by the sounds of mortars and artillery fire around them anymore,” Sagi added.
Since the beginning of the war, several Israeli soldiers and civilians have been killed as a result of this fire. Every day, there are numerous incidents between Hezbollah and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). In response to Hezbollah’s fire, the IDF has retaliated with airstrikes and other means. It is believed that over 100 Hezbollah terrorists have been killed in those attacks, in addition to several civilian casualties. The fighting comes after months of tensions between the two sides.
The last time Hezbollah and Israel went to war was in 2006. The war ended with United Nations Resolution 1701, which brought about a cease-fire and also called for Hezbollah forces to be distanced from the border with Israel. It also demanded the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon, other than the Lebanese army, based on previous UN resolutions. However, these have never been implemented.
“I want to see 1701 implemented, I want to see an international force on the border and not terrorists on my fence,” said Sagi, whose daughter has already decided she will not return to live in Israel’s north.
According to Sarit Zehavi, president of the Alma Research and Education Center and a former intelligence officer in the IDF Intelligence Directorate, Resolution 1701 is akin to a “dead body.”
“No one resuscitates a dead body,” she told The Media Line. “The resolution offers no mechanism for distancing Hezbollah from the border, and it is worded so vaguely that an international force does not understand this as its mission.”
“[Resolution] 1701 is a flawed mechanism, and if Israel continues to rely on it, it may find itself surprised,” Zehavi added.
Hezbollah is a bigger threat to Israel than Hamas
Hezbollah is a Shi’ite terrorist group. It is the strongest armed force in Lebanon, surpassing even the Lebanese army.
“It is backed and financed by Iran, Israel’s archenemy. Known as the ‘party of God,’ its initial purpose was to drive out Israeli forces that occupied southern Lebanon beginning in 1981, for several decades. It has since continued its armed activities against Israel, branding itself as a guardian of the Palestinian cause.”
Israel considers the organization its most dangerous and immediate enemy, even after Hamas’ surprise and deadly offensive. Israeli intelligence estimates Hezbollah has accumulated around 150,000 unguided rockets, with Iranian assistance.
The organization has significantly strengthened since its 2006 war with Israel. In addition to a massive arsenal of missiles it is believed to possess, the organization reportedly maintains over 100 offensive drones. It has also gained significant combat experience, as it sent many of its soldiers to help stabilize the Assad regime in Syria during its civil war.
Hezbollah is also believed to have improved its precision missile abilities. Israel’s air force is reportedly behind hundreds of airstrikes that have targeted this project. However, the success of these strikes appears limited, as the huge arsenal of missiles is believed to remain intact.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which has been in Lebanon for decades, has not proven to be a forceful factor against Hezbollah’s menacing presence on Israel’s northern frontier.
According to the last UNIFIL report filed in July 2023, over 600 ground violations of Lebanese attempts to cross into Israel were recorded.
When images of Hamas terrorists storming Israel’s highly fortified Gaza border began emerging, residents in the north witnessed their worst nightmare materializing, albeit in a different geographical area.
“We have seen Hezbollah’s military training with our very eyes,” said Zehavi. “Hezbollah is preparing for the very same scenario which Hamas executed. We are terrified by the horrific scenes and with the IDF’s response so far, which has not harmed any of Hezbollah’s strategic capabilities, nothing has changed.”
Karyna Kushnir lives 500 meters from the border with Lebanon. When the news broke about Hamas’ offensive, she quickly packed her bags and left her kibbutz with her three children.
“I knew this is what Hezbollah is planning to do here,” Kushnir told The Media Line from her temporary home in the coastal city of Netanya. “For months we have been seeing Hezbollah preparations on the border, my neighbors heard drilling sounds under the houses. Hezbollah has been taunting us for months now.”
Over the past year, a series of incidents between Hezbollah and Israel have threatened to escalate into a broader conflict. But for now, the two sides appear to have established rules of engagement that contain the tensions. For the residents though, it is not enough. Their experience is of a full-fledged war, as the population deserted the area and there are continuous violent exchanges.
“As long as Hezbollah is not removed from the border and there is no force that stands between us and them, I will not risk the lives of my children and myself,” Kushnir said. “What happened on the border with Gaza shocked us to our core.”
The reality for tens of thousands of Israeli residents from the north is that of displaced people. Some have moved around several times, parents seeking some kind of normalcy for their children without the ability to know how long the situation will last.
Hila Ben Aharon from Kiryat Shmona continues to pay rent for her apartment in the northern city, while also renting an apartment in the much more expensive central Israeli city of Petah Tikva. On the morning of Hamas’ attack, she also rushed to pack her family’s belongings before fleeing.
“We have been imagining this scenario for years,” Ben Aharon said.
She left with her three children, the youngest just recovering from cancer. Last week, her two older children started a new school.
“We are just trying to cope with all this uncertainty,” she told The Media Line. “But I will only go back when I feel safe. The army hasn’t really changed anything in the north yet. The border is not safe and Hezbollah is still on the border.”
Iran, which is believed to have played a major role in helping Hamas prepare for its offensive, is also in cahoots with Hezbollah.
“This whole incident is part of Iran’s plan which includes a multifront attack on Israel,” said Zehavi.
This has also been seen in incidents in the Red Sea and Iraq against American targets.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of residents of northern Israel, the equivalent of the population of Houston, Texas, wait for a change. While Israel fights Hamas to fend it off from its southern border, the horizon in northern Israel is a lot less clear.
“Something has to change in order to bring the area back to its routine,” said Zehavi. “We are talking about a whole area in danger. An Israeli commitment to any international mechanism has to have a time cap, that if after its deadline Hezbollah is still on its border, Israel will have the freedom to react as it sees fit.”